American Community: Radical Experiments in Intentional Living

American Community: Radical Experiments in Intentional Living

Mainstream notions of the â€œAmerican Dreamâ€ usually revolve around the ownership of private property, a house of oneâ€™s own. Yet for the past 400 years, a large number of Americans have dared to dream bigger and bolder, choosing to live in intentional communities that pooled resources, and they worked to ensure the well-being of all their members.Â
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American Community takes us inside forty of the most interesting intentional communities in the nationâ€™s history, from the colonial era to the present day. You will learn about such little-known experiments in cooperative living as the Icarian communities, which took the utopian ideas expounded in a 1840 French novel and put them into practice, ultimately spreading to five states over fifty years. Plus, it covers more recent communities such as Arizonaâ€™s Arcosanti, designed by architect Paolo Soleri as a model for ecologically sustainable living.
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In this provocative and engaging book, Mark Ferrara guides readers through an array of intentional communities that boldly challenged capitalist economic arrangements in order to attain ideals of harmony, equality, and social justice. By shining a light on these forgotten histories, it shows that far from being foreign concepts, communitarianism and socialism have always been vital parts of the American experience.
Country USA
Brand Rutgers University Press
Manufacturer Rutgers University Press
Binding Hardcover
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781978808232
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Rutgers University Press
Manufacturer	Rutgers University Press
Binding	Hardcover
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781978808232
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00